There eerie photos show a creepy abandoned neighbourhood reclaimed by nature, where a student was brutally murdered 20 years ago.
Dax Ward, 40, has been visiting mysterious locations and for the past five years and takes striking photos of communities or buildings that have been left behind.
His trips included a visit to the chilling ruins of Ukraine’s Chernobyl disaster, as well as abandoned sanatoriums and orphanages across the US.
The urban explorer has now shared photos of the latest spot he’s explored while living in Thailand.
A number of houses at a development in Pracha Utit, Bangkok, were left half finished when the 1997 Asian financial crisis hit.
Years later a female university student was murdered in the area as the properties were left to rot.
(Image: Dax Ward / CATERS NEWS)
Computer science teacher Dax’s snaps show decrepit houses surrounded by overgrown lawns, as well as graffiti on the walls.
One of the photos shows a creepy staircase covered in dirt and spider webs on the ceiling.
The houses, with no doors or windows, appear to have been taken over by nature.
As he entered one of the houses, he photographed a completely wrecked toilet, with pieces of tiles detached from the walls and floors.
One photo shows a broken sink and a toilet seat that has become orange over time, as well as a bathtub in terrible conditions.
(Image: Caters News Agency)
Dax, who shoots documentary photography as a hobby, said: “I had been exchanging abandoned site locations with a local ghost hunter for a few months, and this was one of the first places he suggested.
“I decided to go based only on the pictures and description that he provided, but I didn’t know the grim backstory until afterwards.”
He said he gathered information on the creepy neighbourhood from a ghost hunter and from some Thai websites.
(Image: Dax Ward / CATERS NEWS)
The adventurer explained: “According to what I’ve gathered, in the early 2000s, a female university student was raped and murdered in one of the houses.
“Her face was mutilated and her body beaten so badly that the body itself was unrecognisable.
“After this grisly event, for which the perpetrator has never been caught, there have been a number of reports of sightings of the young lady’s ghost in the area of the houses.
“Furthermore, more than one taxi driver has reported giving a young woman a ride to this location from somewhere in the city, only for her to disappear after exiting the taxi, along with the fare that she paid before departing.”
(Image: Dax Ward / CATERS NEWS)
The collection of photographs, that were taken in April 2021, have created waves of discussions online – with many people saying the unnerving pictures evoke feelings of sadness and despair.
Dax added: “Without even knowing what happened, the location definitely felt unsettling and like a place that people normally avoid.
“I visited in the afternoon, as I can’t even imagine what it would be like at night time.
“I think there may be some activity in and around the houses at night, where squatters come to have a drink or smoke something.
“But I personally wouldn’t want to be there at that time.”
(Image: Dax Ward / CATERS NEWS)
Dax said he has photographed many abandoned places during his adventures, but Pracha Utit has been one of the most “unsettling” locations he has ever visited.
“The pictures of the large houses masked behind fences of trees and foliage are the ones that best convey the foreboding tone of this place.
“I also like some of the aerial shots with green vegetation seemingly consuming the man-made structures, reclaiming them back for nature.
“I’ve photographed quite a few abandoned places with grim backstories, but this one ranks highly as one of the most unsettling places I’ve been.”